Having owned a lot of boosted cars, they may claim that they offer better mileage, but in truth boost is so addictive you'll be playing with the throttle all the time and drinking the gas.

Oh yeah and on the bike end of things, I owned a Yamaha FZ6 and an R1, and after selling them I borrowed a friends brand new Ninja 250 for a group ride. That thing was a blast! However, I'd feel more comfortable on something a little bigger. Maybe a used Ninja 500 or something. My FZ6 ran a 12.0 second flat 1/4 mile with me driving, and got great mileage.

If I were buying a bike again today, I'd think long and hard about an FZ8 Fazer8 or whatever they're calling it.

Hahah, I hear you on the boost thing. First, it was the Ninja 250 & the CBR250r comparison(I would go with the more modern Honda) and then someone told me about the 2012 Ninja 650 (649cc parallel twin engine) and I fell in love. I'm not interested in a 'supersport' as a first bike.

I'm leaning hard on the Kawa. 650 but the Honda is still appealing to me. Would be a great bike to learn on with the lighter weight n' all but something a little bigger is always nice too. Things should be clearer after an MSF course.